Dr. Lucy Gildea, Chief Scientific Officer

Leading co-creation to deliver products women really want

“Co-creation is what I term the power of great individual ideas that become something EVEN BETTER when developed together. Our inspiration comes from many places, and we often look outside of the beauty industry to and determine how we can apply trends to skin care. To truly deliver irresistible products, we invest in up-front consumer and technical research to leverage the most cutting-edge technologies. We work in partnership with our packaging and operations teams to develop and manufacture a safe, high quality product. We are dedicated to creating efficacious products that women really want and will enable our entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. That is the ultimate goal of R&D.”

Terry Jacks, Vice President, Product Development

Reproducing a precise recipe from lab beaker to 5,000 liters

“Many companies specialize in either formulating products or manufacturing them. We specialize in doing both, which is why we just invested over $100 million in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing and research and development center. Not only do we produce in Dallas, Texas, but we also must be able to produce the exact same products at any of our manufacturing facilities around the world. And that is quite a daunting feat when you think about going from a small lab beaker all the way up to 5,000 liters and repeating it in multiple locations. It’s similar to a baking recipe. You can’t just multiply the ingredient measures and expect the same results. It’s pretty amazing.”

Dr. Michelle Hines, Director, Global Cosmetic Research & Innovation

Fueling a passion for scientific research with every product

“We spend a lot of time interacting with scientific professionals and academics as well as leading technology companies. We collaborate with experts in dermatology and with major universities around the world. Our scientists attend top academic conferences, and we actively track peer-reviewed scientific journals. We utilize all of these different interactions and collaborations to fuel our research projects because science is our passion, and research is at the heart of everything we do. It’s what we love. We apply it to developing products that deliver the skin care benefits women want.”

“Formulation is very, very tricky. There is a balance between being able to bring a beautiful formula to the consumer and being able to make it stable and efficacious. In product formulation, we really focus on the form, texture and finish. There are many creams and lotions out there, but what is it that will make a woman try it once and want to use it again, day after day? What is it that will make her say, ‘Wow, this is awesome!” about this product? We have a whole team of very creative people dedicated to doing just that.”

“As a global company, it’s important that we have a broad product portfolio that meets the diverse needs of women worldwide, a portfolio that can grow and evolve as needs change. As new formulas are created, we must ensure that every ingredient and product meets our rigorous standards, and we invest heavily in the research and development of new technologies to advance the science of safety.”

David Gan, Senior Principal Scientist, Skin Research & Technology

Pursuing a world of inspiration that leads to innovation

“Inspiration can come from anywhere. We have scientists in our lab who have discovered innovative technologies just by going to a juice bar and identifying a brand-new botanical extract. Through diligence in the lab researching thousands of ingredients and how they benefit the skin, we come up with fantastic patented materials that provide skin benefits for our consumers. It’s knowing how to use that inspiration that moves us into an innovative platform.”

Dr. Shoná Burkes-Henderson, Senior Scientist, Clinical Research

Bringing tangible benefits to life

“We know that we have fantastic ingredient technology in our products, but we also conduct clinical tests to validate the benefits on the skin. Clinical testing helps ensure we’re delivering meaningful benefits to our consumers. Plus, we utilize the latest testing technology to also help ensure accurate, relevant results. The work we do is so tangible because we can see the improvements on women’s skin. That brings passion to the work I do. I am part of something that makes a woman smile because she sees a benefit that really matters to her.”

Dr. Alphonsus Dang, Principal Scientist, Product Safety

Ensuring our high safety standards

“Skin can behave differently from one person to the next. So we constantly invest in a multitude of tests across a broad demographic of skin types — all to ensure every single ingredient and every final formula is safe. We work with ophthalmologists, dermatologists, independent laboratories and testing facilities to confirm our products meet our high quality and safety standards, and with few exceptions, are suitable for use even by those with sensitive skin.”

We use cookies and other similar tools to help you discover what you love about Mary Kay. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the use of cookies on your device unless you have disabled them. You can change your cookie settings using the controls on your web browser at any time, but parts of our site may not function correctly without them. (Click To Close)